How Instagram Upholds the Censoring of Black Bodies and the Suppression of POC-Run Accounts.

I recently went through an experience that helped me see how Instagram’s internal community-safety policies uphold the censoring of black bodies and the suppression of POC-run accounts on the platform.

It all started a few weeks ago when I reposted this photo from the amazing @yayasituation on one of my accounts, @potteryforall:

Being an account that focuses on featuring “The best shopable ceramics on Instagram, in one place,” I exclusively post and promote the work of other ceramicists on the app. Showcasing a black body was a departure from my usual ceramic-piece-centered content but it was in no way infringing on Instagram’s Community Guidelines. Because of this, I was surprised to wake up the next day and find that the photo had vanished from my account, without receiving a notification or any type of notice from Instagram.

Since I had not broken any of Instagram’s Community Guidelines, the most likely reason for the takedown is that it had been reported by a few people who considered the post “inappropriate” enough to not be allowed on the platform.

Although I had no information on who reported it or why, the only measurable indications of people’s discomfort were a two comments left on the post by white women. One, which has now been deleted, commented on how the image was inappropriate because it was objectifying the body and the other person commented “People either love it or hate it right the body distracts from the pottery in my opinion.”

The number of reports triggered the automated and unreviewed takedown of the content, effectively enabling the censoring of the Black body in my post.

One of Instagram’s internal community-safety policies is automating the process of taking down a post after it reaches a reporting threshold, regardless of whether or not it infringes on their public Community Guidelines.

That wasn’t the only problem. Once I checked my business insights a few days later, I noticed that my account had also begun losing followers. It went from gaining over 300 followers per day (this had been the average for more than two years), to not growing at all starting on the day the post was taken down, to losing around 100 followers per day the week after.

Although I had no way to prove this, it seemed that the number and type of reports that triggered the automated and unreviewed takedown of the post had also triggered a “shadowban” on my account that reduced the reach of my content in the Explorer Page (the most effective way to grow), Hashtags Feeds and Home Feeds.

Another one of Instagram’s internal community-safety policies is automating the process of shadowbanning an account after it reaches a reporting threshold, regardless of the report’s validity or whether or not it infringes on their public Community Guidelines.

This resulted in my account no longer being as discoverable to new audiences, which reduced my daily rate of follower growth to the degree that I began losing followers.

What made matters worse was that there was no clear and easily-accessible channel through which I could reach Instagram’s support team and effectively challenge the fact that my post had been wrongly reported and taken down.

After exploring all of the “Report a Problem” options in Instagram’s Help section, there was no option that matched the situation I was going through. Not only that, the reporting options that seemed to vaguely apply like “abuse or spam” or “other types of reports,” only addressed a very limited number of situations that also didn’t pertain to what I was going through either. Since none of these options applied, I wasn’t allowed to submit a report through any of them.

The only options I had to submit a complaint were using the Something Isn’t Working and the General Feedback open submission boxes.

Through them, I explained what happened and why it was unfair that my post was taken down as it didn’t break any of Instagram’s stated Community Guidelines, but after several days of waiting, there was no response (and there hasn’t been a response from that channel to this day).

Given the fact that I earn an income through my account (I charge $45 for promoting the work of ceramicists that ask to be featured on my feed) and my ability to continue earning that income depends on my audience growth (like a magazine, my accounts’ advertising pricing depends on the size and engagement of my audience), losing followers because of the shadowban was putting my income in danger. I was also starting to lose hope that I would be able to get in touch with someone at Instagram to try and resolve it.

Instagram does not provide a clear, simple, and accessible customer support channel through which users who have been wrongfully reported can effectively challenge the validity of the reporting. This leaves most wrongfully reported accounts negatively affected through a permanent shadowban.

Out of desperation, I tried the last trick I had up my sleeve. Having been writing about how to grow small businesses on Instagram for a while, I knew that Facebook (who owns Instagram) offers direct customer service to their users who own a business account and spent money on ads through their Facebook Ads Manager platform. Since my @potteryforall account was a business account and I had spent money on ads for it in the past, I thought this might be my way in.

I Googled Facebook Business Account Customer Service and eventually found an option where you could chat to a customer service rep through Facebook messenger (you can see that page here). I filled out a form that required my Ad Account ID, but once it was sent through, I was quickly messaged by a representative through Facebook messenger (here’s a detailed guide on how to reach Instagram’s customer service team).

The representative asked me for the date that my post was uploaded, the date it was removed, as well as examples of other similar types of posts on Instagram that showed how my post was unfairly taken down.

I provided these posts as an example of how white bodies with ceramics (and without) that show a lot more skin aren’t reported, taken down or have their accounts shadowbanned:

Once I submitted these examples, the customer support person thanked me (I can say that they were sincerely invested in trying to resolve the problem), escalated the case, gave me a case ID number and told me they’d email me with the decision on the case within a few days.

Not days, but a week later I finally heard from them with the news that, after speaking with the team, they were able to re-instate my post.

The post was indeed back on my feed, and guess what else had changed? My account had started growing again.

Not only was this proof that the post had been wrongfully taken down but it also proved that Instagram had indeed placed a shadowban on my account (there’s no other reason that would explain why my account started to lose followers on the exact day the post was taken down and then started to gain followers once more the exact day the post was re-instated).

How Instagram enables and upholds the censoring of Black bodies and suppression of POC creators on the platform through their internal community-safety guidelines:

Although my problem was resolved, the experienced opened my eyes to how Instagram’s internal community-safety guidelines enable and uphold the censoring of Black bodies and suppression of POC creators on the platform. Here’s how:

1. By automating post removal based on how many reports a post receives, regardless of whether it infringes on the Community Guidelines, Instagram is enabling the censorship of Black bodies: The post in this article containing a Black body is a clear example. It did not break any Community Guidelines but because it made a few people feel uncomfortable/angry/upset, they were able to effectively censor it by reporting it as “inappropriate” enough times to have it automatically taken down by Instagram.

2. By automating the process of shadowbanning an account based on how many reports a post receives, regardless of whether the post or the account infringes on the Community Guidelines, Instagram is enabling the suppression of POC-run accounts: What happened to my account is a clear example. I’m a Brown Latino man from Guatemala and saw nothing inappropriate about a Black creative portraying a Black body as they wish. That is why I posted the image. A few people who saw the image and did not agree that a Black creative can portray a Black body as they wish were able to impose their values and norms over mine by reporting the post and having it taken down by Instagram.

Due to this, the exposure of my account, as well as my ability to earn an income through it, was suppressed through the automated shadowban that Instagram placed on my account. Why was it placed? It wasn’t because my content infringes of Instagram’s Community Guidelines, but because the image of the Black body I posted made a few people in my audience feel uncomfortable/angry/upset and Instagram enables those people impose their values on others through the community-safety guideline of shadowbanning the accounts that reach a reporting threshold.

3. By not providing a simple and barrier-free channel through which BIPOC users can dispute reports easily and effectively, Instagram UPHOLDS the censoring of Black bodies and suppression of POC-run accounts: By automating the process of taking down posts and shadowbanning accounts solely based on the number reports they receive, Instagram is enabling the unaddressed white fragility and white centering of their users to censor BIPOC Instagram creators in a very real way with negative consequences, just like I experienced.

The majority-white user-base in the United States (and elsewhere) can easily impose their values, norms, and feelings regarding what content is and isn’t “appropriate” on everyone else through the reporting mechanism. Not only censoring the content, but greatly impacting the account that posted it through a shadowban.

Although harmful, this could be remedied if BIPOC users who were wrongfully reported were able to challenge the takedown of posts through a clear, simple and effective channel. Sadly, this is not the case. I am certain that 99% of Instagram users don’t know how to get in touch with a customer service representative about a problem — I’m “Instagram expert” and even I couldn’t do it! What’s worse, Instagram places an enormous barrier of entry for users by requiring them to have a business account and spend money on ads before being able to talk to a representative through their Facebook Ads Manager platform.

Through their conscious unwillingness to provide simple and effective customer service, Instagram is actively UPHOLDING the censorship and suppression they enable white communities to impose on BIPOC creators on the platform.

How could Instagram fix it?

Here are three changes Instagram could make to help protect BIPOC users in situations like the one detailed in this article:

• Open an easily accessible customer service channel where people can challenge unfair content takedowns and shadowbanning: Through it, they could help correct the harm inflicted on BIPOC users who were unfairly reported, censored, and shadowbanned through being reported.
• Hire a diverse and anti-racism trained group of customer service representatives responsible for reviewing cases of accounts being wrongfully reported: Creating an easily accessible and effective channel wouldn’t be enough. To avoid causing more harm, Instagram needs an empowered, diverse and anti-racism-trained group of customer service representatives that can make the right decisions regarding which posts are correctly and incorrectly taken down due to reporting.
• Send a DM informing people of the reason why a post was taken down: Last but not least, Instagram can also help support those affected by their automation policies by sending a DM informing users of when and why their post was taken down, as well as how they can challenge the decision if they believe it’s unfair. Yes, this would create the need for a much larger Facebook customer support team given the inevitable influx of complaints, but if they truly believe that it’s their responsibility to foster a safe and supportive community for everyone, it would be an investment worth making. Sadly, their stated awareness of harassment toward Black users but lack of significant action seem to indicate otherwise.

How can you fix it?

If you are someone who has received and benefited from white privilege (I’m Brown but white-passing so I include myself here), here are a few changes you can make to help protect Black users from being harmed due to our unaddressed white fragility and centering on Instagram:

• Do not report content from Black users that does not infringe of Instagram’s Community Guidelines: Due to Instagram’s internal policies, reporting has the impact of censoring content and suppressing the reach of the account who posted. By reporting content from a Black-run account as “inappropriate,” despite it not infringing on any guidelines, you are imposing your white-privilege-shaped values and norms on those who don’t necessarily share them. This is white centering and it helps to uphold white supremacy on Instagram.
• Help Black creators on Instagram by following their accounts, liking their content, and turning on post notifications: Just as the process of taking down content and shadowbanning is automated, so is the process of surfacing an account on more Explorer Pages, Home, and Hashtag feeds based on the rate of increase in followers, likes, and turning on post notifications. The Instagram algorithm is optimized to keep your eyes on the screen so Facebook can monetize your attention with advertising. If you indicate to Instagram that content from Black-run accounts captures your attention over other content (through following and liking), the algorithm will surface that content more and you will help bring more traffic to Black creators on the platform.
• Share relevant information: Instagram makes an effort to keep all of this information obscure to avoid complaints from their users. Share with your friends about how reporting can harm Black users on Instagram and encourage them to think twice before reporting content on the platform. If you’ve come across a Black creator on the platform who’s account has been shadowbanned, share with them how they can contact customer service (here, after creating a business account and identifying their Ad Account ID) to challenge the shadowban.
• Hold Instagram accountable: Instagram can get away with these policies because they make a concerted effort to keep them private so users like you and I can’t pinpoint exactly how they work, how they negatively impact people, and consequently, can’t complain about them. The larger the public outcry, the more likely they are to pay attention. Instagram is a 500 billion dollar company owned by Marc Zuckerberg. They have the resources and infrastructure to make any changes they’d like. It’s up to us to demand that they make the right ones. You can start by contacting their customer service and complaining about how their content take-down and shadowbanning policies affect the Black community on the app.

Conclusion

Like Layla F. Saad said in her book Me and White Supremacy, “White supremacy is not just an attitude or a way of thinking. It also extends to how systems and institutions are structured to uphold this white dominance.”

Through their internal community-safety policies of taking down posts and shadowbanning accounts due to the number of reports their get, regardless of their validity, Instagram enables white dominance on their platforms. By not providing a simple and barrier-free channel through which users can dispute reports effectively, Instagram upholds it.

If you want to make a difference, stop upholding white dominance by not reporting content from Black users that does not infringe of Instagram’s Community Guidelines and pressure Instagram into changing the way they operate by contacting their customer service to complain about how policies affect the Black community on the app.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my article! If you enjoyed it, you can support me by signing up to my Instagram Small Business class, sharing this article and giving it a bunch of claps. You can also follow me on Instagram to get updates whenever I publish a new piece ❤

Thanks for reading! If you want to read more of my work, I’d recommend reading this article about why Instagram is hiding likes to protect themselves, not their users, Is Instagram dying?, how to practice healthy Instagram use during home isolation, 4 things to remember when Instagram’s got you down, and we are all working for Instagram for free. Also, if you want to read more about how Instagram works, please read my articles about what Instagram really is and how works, how the Instagram algorithm works, Instagram niches and why they are the key to growth, why you’re losing Instagram followers, Instagram hashtags, how to increase your Instagram engagement, how to pick the right Instagram username, how to write an Instagram bio, the best Instagram content schedulers and automators, Instagram bots, Instagram bots 2022, how to create an Instagram visual grid, how to create an Instagram repost account that makes money, how to check if you’re shadowbanned on Instagram, and why your Instagram account isn’t growing.